


Miraculous Detroit: Road WarriorZ

by KingXerxes007



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Blood and Gore, Detroit, F/M, Fluffy not Smutty, Guns, Happy Ending, Identity Reveal, Major Character(s), Major Original Character(s), Miraculous Team, Original Character Death(s), Original Kwamis, Secret Identity, University of Michigan, Vehicular Warfare, Violence, a helluva lot of swearing, character bios galore, classmates are still temp heroes (Kinda), college students, non canon backstory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:28:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27369550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingXerxes007/pseuds/KingXerxes007
Summary: When Mlle. Bustier's class takes their class trip to Detroit, the Parisian heroes and their teammates find out that there is more to the city than they initially believe. Especially when they realize they're not the only superpowered people in town...(Note that the heroes are in upper secondary school now [AKA High School]. I know Miss Bustier isn't a high school teacher, but I don't think it would be great if they had to deal with this stuff in middle school.)
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Luka Couffaine/Kagami Tsurugi
Comments: 34
Kudos: 13





	1. Preparing for the Trip

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This is my first foray into fanfiction and it's a bit of a doozy as this is the first time I am sharing any creative writing pieces publicly. Right now, I have 2 chapters written and ready to post, with a 3rd one currently in the writing stage. I hope this first chapter will be enough to whet your appetites for more. There is no smut in this fanfic, but keep an eye out for the final chapter of this fanfic, as I do plan to write a smut piece when this one is finished.
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading this first chapter and leave a kudos a comment if ya liked it! Have a nice day!

**_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_ **

The sound of a phone alarm blared as the young, cute half-French/half-Chinese girl woke up with a start, clutching the pink lingerie above her heart and breathing heavily. She immediately silenced the alarm, stretched her arms out as she yawned, and looked at the time on her phone before rushing out of bed with a squeal escaping her lips.

“TIKKI, WHY DIDN’T YOU REMIND ME THAT TODAY IS OUR FLIGHT FOR THE CLASS TRIP?! I THOUGHT THAT WAS TOMORROW!!!” The girl shrieked as she slid down the banister of the stairs from her bed to her bedroom floor and ran to her closet.

On her desk, a little red polka-dotted creature floated upwards from its little bed, yawning before sleepily replying “Marinette, I did remind you. Four times this week already, mind you. You probably just didn’t hear me since you were so focused on everything else going on this morning.”

Marinette Dupain-Cheng sighed as she grabbed her checklist off the closet door, pulled out her suitcase and carry-on bag, and opened them. She checked to make sure she had everything on her list, including the Miracle Box and all the jewels inside, and then closed the bags. Placing them near her bedroom entrance, she looked at herself in her full-length mirror and immediately stood up before rifling through her closet. “I get it, Tikki, but I’ve been dreaming about this trip for ages! I’ve even got a binder of all the information on things to do in the Detroit, especially with…” Marinette pulled out the binder and hugged it, sighing dreamily. “…. Him!”

Tikki looked at her Miraculous bearer as she fluttered over to Marinette, saying “I know, Marinette! You don’t have to tell me again. After all, I know that Adrien is going to be there. Besides that, you’ll probably be able to sit next to him on the flight.”

Marinette gazed at her kwami with a doubtful expression, replying “But what if Adrien sits next to someone else on the plane, like Sabrina, Chloé, or even… Lila?” She shuddered at the thought of Chloé or Lila sitting next to her good friend Adrien, thinking of all the ways those two would try to keep her away from the boy she had been crushing on for the last few years.

“At least if Alya or Nino are sitting next to him, it would give me a chance to swap seats with them” she thought out loud.

Tikki zoomed in front of her face and replied “Calm down! You’re overthinking this, Marinette! Besides, no one knows who they will be sitting next to on the plane, so you’ve got a chance that you might be seated next to him.”

Marinette looked at her kwami with a hopeful expression on her face, saying “You’re right. I shouldn’t get too hung up on it now. I’m ready to take on the world!”

Tikki giggled before saying “Marinette, aren’t you forgetting something?”

Marinette looked back at Tikki, replying “What am I possibly-?” before looking down and noticing that she was still in her pajamas.

“That’s what you’re forgetting!” Tikki, smiled, shaking her head as if to say ‘I told you so’ to her Miraculous bearer.

“Oh, right… Thanks Tikki!” Marinette said as she pulled out her favorite outfit: her nice pink jeans that hugged her curves, her favorite white, flower print t-shirt that fit snuggly against her chest, her dark gray blazer, her black Converse sneakers, and her light pink purse. She got into her clothes quickly and then put her earrings on while Tikki floated down into her purse, where the little kwami had stored a small portion of her macaron stash inside. Marinette then gathered her suitcase and her carry-on bag and headed downstairs to grab some dinner before she and her parents packed her bags in the car and drove towards the airport.

* * *

On the other side of town, the young, handsome French boy already had his suitcase and carry-on bag together and had just gotten out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist and droplets of water running down his smooth, toned body. He wiped his head with his hand towel and dried himself off completely before gazing at his bathroom mirror to finish doing up his hair.

He called out, “Plagg, did you make sure to pack the things you needed for the flight?”

A little black creature phased through the bathroom door and floated just in front of his face. “Of course I packed what I needed! But I’m upset I can’t take my Camembert! So when are we going to eat- I mean, get to the airport?”

Adrien Agreste smiled, looking at his kwami’s discouraged expression. “I know you’re hungry and upset, Plagg, but US laws have banned anyone from bringing Camembert into the country. Besides that, have you ever decided to not think about your stomach? We’ll get to the airport on time, since Father already made sure Gorilla was ready to leave.”

Plagg fluttered onto Adrien’s bed and sighed before saying “Oh ok… Make sure you have the other cheese wheels wrapped properly though! I don’t want those security guards at the airport to throw it away!”

Adrien laughed at that statement, saying “Plagg, don’t you think I know that already? Come on! It’s me we’re talking about here! Besides, the only thing I’m thinking about right now is how awesome this trip to Detroit is going to be. Especially because I'm going to make some memorable moments there with….” He sighed dreamily as he thought about the lovely vision of his dear sweet partner “…. Her!”

Plagg could only sigh, knowing that his Miraculous bearer was only thinking of all the things he would be able to do with his lady, before saying “Yes, Adrien, I know you are going to make some nice moments with her while on the trip. But the problem is that you don’t even know who she is behind the mask! And before you ask me for the tenth time today, I still can't tell you who Ladybug is. So maybe try asking someone else besides yours truly about Ladybug’s identity, like Marinette, OK?”

Adrien thought about that for a bit until a thought crossed his mind. “But what if Marinette doesn’t end up sitting next to me and ends up sitting next to someone else like Sabrina, Chloé, or even….. Lila?” He nearly spat out her name, thinking of all the things she would say or do to hurt Marinette in any way, physically or mentally, and it ate at him to know that Lila might try to hurt a good friend of his, especially Marinette.

“I wouldn’t be able to ask her anything because they’d be harassing her to the point where she would flip out on them and get in so much trouble that they’d send her home. At least if anyone besides those three was sitting next to her, I could trade seats with them and sit next to her and then we could talk.” He said.

Plagg hovered in front of him, saying “Yes, yes, yes, such is life, Adrien. It’s unfair, especially to me because I won’t be able to make any happy memories with my Camembert staying here at home! So what am I supposed to do while you and Ladybug do all the horrible human things you two are planning on doing?”

Adrien stared at the little furball before blushing red and yelping out “Plagg, I am not doing anything like that with Ladybug!” before sighing. “Look, you’ve packed more than enough cheese for the flight and then some, Plagg. So I’m sure you’ll be perfectly fine rationing yourself when it comes to it. Why is it you won’t eat anything besides cheese again?”

So saying that, he went to his closet to pull out his clothes: his favorite black t-shirt with multiple horizontal stripes of different colors that hugged his chiseled abdomen, the white button down shirt he wore over it, his favorite blue jeans that seemed to accentuate his rear end quite nicely, and his orange Converse sneakers. He slipped into the freshly laundered clothes before putting on his signet ring while Plagg flew into Adrien’s carry-on, where the little kwami had stored a portion of his cheese stash inside. Adrien then grabbed his suitcase and carry-on bag and headed to the dining room to have an early dinner before his bodyguard put their bags in the car and drove them to the airport.

* * *

Turned out that the partners in crimefighting were headed to the same place for their class trip, as they had found out that morning after defeating an akuma. The akuma’s name was Burnout, a Formula One racer who had failed to qualify for the French Grand Prix and was akumatized into a supervillain who tore through the streets of Paris in his souped up racecar. After defeating the akuma, Ladybug and Chat Noir met up with their partner’s civilian form and told each other that they would be out of the country. Chat Noir told Marinette that he was going under the pretext of having business to deal with on his father’s behalf while Ladybug told Adrien that she was going under the pretext of visiting family overseas.

They both had a bad feeling that Hawk Moth might try something with one of them gone, but they believed that the supervillain wouldn’t dare do anything if one of their jewels were out of his reach. So the pair decided to keep the fact that they were each going on a class trip to Detroit to themselves, in hopes that their crimefighting partner would be able to take care of Paris and hold off Hawk Moth while they were away.

Little did the heroes know that the malign mastermind himself, Hawk Moth, was on his way to Detroit as well, with a lead on a second Miracle Box and another Guardian besides Ladybug. Under the guise of his civilian identity, fashion mogul Gabriel Agreste, the supervillain had been going back and forth from his chamber to his home office as he spent many days and nights perusing the Grimoire to learn more of its secrets, until he finally came upon a particular passage. Upon partially deciphering the text, he found that the passage was written in the Grimoire by Wang Fu, the former Guardian of the Miracle box and the previous bearer of the Turtle Miraculous. The old Chinese man had written the passage years ago, stating that he had named another as a new member of the Order of the Guardians.

Gabriel went on to discover that before settling in Paris, the former Guardian of the Miraculous had been in Detroit for a number of years, and that he had found a second Miracle Box there, along with someone who he had trained to be the box’s Guardian. It was a thunderbolt out of the blue sky for Gabriel and he chuckled evilly as he finalized his plans. The devious villain was almost ecstatic that his son’s class trip would be the perfect cover for him to find this second Miracle Box, obtain a fully translated Grimoire, and gain more power in his quest to steal the Miraculous of the two heroes.

* * *

An hour later, Marinette arrived at the Charles De Gaulle airport, seeing the rest of her classmates as well as the chaperones standing over near the security entrance inside the international departures terminal. She was quite surprised to see Luka and Kagami there as well, although Marinette later found out that the young fencing prodigy had some business to attend to in Detroit and had invited her up and coming rockstar boyfriend to join her on the trip.

Marinette checked her bags in and walked over to them, yawning, before an arm landed around her shoulder and the voice next to her greeted her loudly. “Afternoon, sleepyhead! Ready for the flight?”

Marinette glanced up to find none other than her best friend, Alya Cesaire, had been the source of the arm on her shoulder, before she straightened up and replied “God, Alya! You scared me! Don’t do that again!”

Alya snickered before retorting “Oh please, girlfriend. You and I both know I always like to keep you on your toes! Besides, I don’t get to scare you too often, so don’t be upset at me for having a little fun at your expense!”

The boy in front of the pair chuckled, saying “Easy, Alya! You know Marinette was asleep before coming here, especially after she was in the vicinity of that akuma attack this morning.” Marinette looked over at Nino Lahiffe, flashing him a silent ‘Thank you’ as she smiled.

Alya looked at her best friend and her boyfriend before saying “So? She should be more awake right now like I am. And I’m glad I’m not tired, especially after that whole thing earlier! Besides, I’m the one running the only blog in Paris that has daily updates about everything Ladybug, Chat Noir, and the other Parisian superheroes as do their thing against all those akumas.”

Both Marinette and Nino laughed before Nino replied “We know already, Alya. But still, don’t you think you’re doing too much to the point where you could use some rest as well as someone to help you with the Ladyblog?”

Alya shot him a glare, retorting “Oh I could, yes. But SOMEONE decided to go home instead of spending time around town with his girlfriend!” Nino sighed, thinking that he might’ve pushed his luck, and backpedaled.

“Ok, maybe I should have spent a bit of time with you, Alya. But I knew that the class trip was today, and I didn’t want to be the one missing it because I didn’t get any rest this morning after class.” he said, holding his hands up.

Alya sighed, then replied “Oh ok… I probably should’ve taken some relaxation time for myself. I guess I’m a little high strung, right now.”

Nino grinned and took her in his arms saying “Hey, it’s OK, babe. We all have those days. Right, Marinette?” as he glanced over at Marinette. Marinette nodded in silent agreement, thinking of all the times that she probably could’ve used some relaxation time to herself.

Suddenly, she was jostled from behind by someone and fell to the ground. She winced, feeling a small sting of pain on her palms and turned around to see Adrien extending a hand as his other one sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

“Sorry Marinette. I kinda ran up and wasn’t looking where I was going…” he said, apologetically. But she hadn’t heard him, since she was staring at him, wide eyed and tongue tied, wondering if it was an angel who had caused this moment to happen to her. She accepted his hand, twitching as she felt his arm muscles ripple when he helped her back to her feet.

“Adrien! Uh HI! I-I-I-I’m so sorry! I should’ve-!“ Marinette stuttered, trying to gain her composure back, and failing quite spectacularly, in front of everyone else.

Adrien looked at her and replied “No, no, Marinette. It’s my fault. Really. I’m-“

And the pair went back and forth, trying to apologize to each other and take the blame, until Miss Bustier clapped her hands and announced “All right, class! Please keep your tickets on you and let us get moving to the flight!” And within an hour, the students had gone through security, gotten to the gate, and started boarding the plane at 6 PM.


	2. The Long, Long Flight

Marinette took one look at the ticket she had and smiled, thanking the heavens that she got the aisle seat when Kagami had traded tickets with her before they boarded. The young Japanese girl smiled softly as she imagined the perfect end result of the grand scheme cooked up by Marinette's best friend. And it would be no surprise if a certain dashing young gentleman took the seat right next to Marinette, especially since he had been eyeing the young aspiring fashion designer since they bumped into each other at the airport.

Nino and Alya sat in the seats right in front of her, Nathaniel and Marc sat together in front of Nino and Alya, Luka and Kagami had the seats behind Marinette, and Rose, Juleka, and Miss Bustier were in the center aisle seats to her right. Rose, Juleka, and Miss Bustier, in turn, had Max, Kim, and Alix behind them, and Ivan, Mylene, and Adrien’s bodyguard in front of them.

Marinette was pretty happy with the seating arrangements, since there was an empty window seat next to her, and the fact that Adrien was on the plane with her instead of with his father and Nathalie made her very excited. Minutes later, however, her heart sank as Lila found her seat right next to Marinette, with the chestnut-haired girl turning her nose up in disgust at her. Marinette's classmates saw the Italian standing in the aisle and also felt quite upset, knowing that Lila was going to end up making the flight miserable for Marinette and screwing up their well laid plans. Within a half hour, the plane took off and was in the air. Soon, the fasten seatbelt sign turned off, allowing people to move about.

In the first-class section of the cabin, Adrien was a bit uncomfortable with who he was sitting between, what with Chloé and Sabrina talking the whole time after sitting in their seats. However, it took one look at the curtain between the first-class and business-class areas of the cabin as well as the thought of sitting next to Marinette to give the young man the courage he needed to speak his mind.

“Uh Chloé, Sabrina, if it’s alright with you two, I’m going to switch with one of the others. I’ve always wanted to try flying coach for once.” Adrien said to the pair.

Chloé scoffed, holding his arm, and said “Oh please, Adrikins! That idea is ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous! Coach is for those who are poor! Not for the high-class people like us!”

Sabrina nodded in agreement silently. “Maybe to you, Chloé, but I’m still curious about it. I’ve always flown around the world on my father’s private jet. This is the first time I’m on a commercial airline, so I want to experience it like everyone else!” Adrien replied, trying to keep himself calm as he tried to pry Chloé off his arm.

“Oh come on, Adrien! First-class seats are better! You have more to do, more choices to make for food, AND you don’t have to deal with all the annoying things on poor people flights, like crying babies, kids kicking your seat, and cheap airline snacks!” Chloé said, with an almost arrogant tone.

And they went back and forth, with Sabrina trying to calm them down, until Chloé gave in, saying “Alright, FINE! You want to go sit with the poor people? Then go! Who am I to stop you from making terrible decisions like this?”

Adrien shot her a look of both anger and annoyance that caused the young blonde to flinch in her seat. “Don’t you dare start acting like you’re my father, Chloé.” He spoke, with a hint of anger in his usually calm voice. And with that, Adrien got up into the aisle, turned towards the curtain, and walked straight down to where Marinette was sitting with Lila.

“Hey Lila, would you mind switching seats with me? I’ve always wanted to fly coach on a flight.” he asked, hoping Lila would be willing to take his seat.

“Oooh, sorry Adrien.” Lila cooed, faking the happiness in her voice as well as the smile on her face. “I’m talking with our dear friend, Marinette, about some stuff. Guess you’ll just have to sit up front.” she said, dragging out the words ‘dear friend’ in an effort to make Marinette even more upset than the young fashion designer already was. One look at Marinette, and Adrien could tell that she was uncomfortable sitting next to Lila, her bluebell eyes almost silently pleading him to help. He calmed himself and looked at the Italian with a cold, hard gaze that made her scoot closer against her seat.

“Look, Lila. I think we all know you and Marinette have never been friends. And you hate her because she’s a threat to your plans to get everyone to like you and to be in a relationship with me. So stop lying to us, especially Marinette and myself, OK?” Adrien replied, with a tone that had a slight chill to it. His words caused all of his classmates who were around to look up in surprise upon hearing him tear into Lila like he did.

Lila recoiled in shock upon hearing Adrien tell her that and decided that it would be better for her to move before everyone else started following his example. So she got up and walked away towards Adrien’s seat with happy cheers erupting throughout the cabin area from the students, congratulating Adrien for speaking what was on everyone's mind. Even Luka and Kagami bumped fists and silently cheered, grinning at the fact that Kagami's part in Alya’s unorthodox plan to get the pair together on the plane had worked like a charm.

The cheers were short lived however, as no one was ready for the turbulence that was headed their way.

The plane shook as it hit, and everyone except for Adrien sat down, buckling their seatbelts as they waited out the shaking. It soon receded and the students looked around at each other to check if they were alright, only to have their eyes become as big saucers upon seeing Adrien’s face just mere centimeters away from Marinette’s and his hands on her seat when he braced himself from the turbulence. Both of them were blushing redder than tomatoes as their classmates held their collective breath, with Alya snapping pictures of the pair from the aisleway.

The pair could only stare at each other, embarrassed that they were so close to each other's faces, as their eyes stayed locked on one another. At that moment, it was as if nothing else was around them and they were alone in the cabin, until Adrien decided to finally break the tension.

“So…. Hi?” He asked, choosing his words carefully.

“Uh….. Hi.” Marinette choked out, her words almost a whisper as she gazed upon the boy of her dreams.

“Um, Marinette?….. If it’s OK with you, can I ask you something?” Adrien said, slowly sitting down next to Marinette while she was internally hyperventilating at the fact that her crush of three years sat right next to her.

“S-S-Sure, Adrien. Go head a right- I mean, go right ahead!” Marinette replied, wondering what act of God gave her a miracle in the form of Adrien Agreste.

“So… Chat Noir mentioned that he had come by your place a few times to talk. What did you two talk about?” Adrien asked.

“Um…. We just talked about our lives, usually. Sometimes, he’d ask for my advice about something and other times, he’d give me advice about something. That’s all, really.” Marinette said, twiddling her thumbs as she tried to keep calm.

“Oh cool. Well, he’s actually a friend of mine, and he told me earlier today that he had a feeling he knows Ladybug’s secret identity.” Adrien whispered softly.

Marinette froze in her seat, thinking to herself _“Wha-? HUH?! How did that mangy alley cat figure out who Ladybug is?! I know I didn’t say or do anything in front of him to make him think that I’m Ladybug! OHHHH, I AM GOING TO HAVE A SERIOUS CONVERSATION WITH HIM WHEN I GET HOME!!!!”_

She refocused back onto Adrien, saying “Oh? Did he tell you who he suspected was Ladybug?”

He looked at her sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, he mentioned that it might be someone in our school. But that’s all he was willing to tell me.”

Marinette relaxed a bit, still nervous from hearing that Chat might have figured out her secret identity, before she said “I see. Well, I wish him good luck in finding out who Ladybug is.”

Adrien smiled at Marinette and replied “Thanks. I’ll make sure to tell him that when I talk to him again.”

For the rest of the flight, the pair talked about everything from her family bakery and his father’s business to things such as video games, life in Paris, and fanfiction, particularly the ones depicting Ladybug and Chat Noir being in a relationship with one another. It was during that time that both Marinette and Adrien decided to look each other up and down, comparing each other in their minds to their superpowered partners. Luckily, they didn’t suspect each other and were supplied with snacks and drinks as they continued to talk throughout the flight. Soon, the pair fell asleep, with Marinette’s head resting on Adrien’s shoulder and Adrien’s head leaning on Marinette’s head. Their classmates managed to catch them dozing in that romantic position and Alya made it a point to snap a few good photos of the pair so that she would be able to show them the first amazing memory on the trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, everyone, we're now 2 chapters in, and it looks Adrien and Marinette's relationship is already off to a very turbulent start, wouldn't you agree? Anyways, next chapter, we head right into the Motor City to provide a little background on the situation there, as well as bring some interesting new characters to the party! Make sure you hit that kudos button and post some comments to let me know how ya feel about the story so far! Stay tuned, y'all!


	3. The Motor City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here comes some new challengers!!!
> 
> No, but really, here you guys get to meet a few new characters and get some background. There may be a few hints I drop in this chapter for later portions of the story, so look out for them!

The city of Detroit was a bustling place at noon, with folks running around to get themselves through their day, businesses lining the blocks with all sorts of goods and services for sale, and all kinds of vehicles from electric scooters and motorcycles to cars and trucks moving throughout the city streets. It was nothing out of the ordinary for the citizens of the fine city.

However, for five graduate students, who were at the top of their graduating class from the University of Michigan, it was more than just another ordinary day for them. Usually, each day for the students consisted of things like going to classes, doing homework, saving civilians, and stopping crimes. But about a month ago, they had been selected as the hosts and tour guides for the French school group who would be spending two the city and were asked to plan an itinerary for the visiting high school students. It took the five college students nearly three weeks to get a good itinerary together, which included finding tourist destinations, fine-dining restaurants, a museum or two, and getting a BIG finale set up for the end of the French students' trip to the city. But they pulled it off and finally got a few days to relax and ready themselves for the school group headed their way.

* * *

The big day finally came around, but for all five of the students, the beginning of the day wasn't exactly what they were hoping for. It turned out that yet another few bunches of criminals were causing mayhem in the city streets, and over the course of several hours, the group had to deal with all of those criminals before they finally headed back to their home on the top two floors of the Renaissance Center through a secret elevator from the underground garage beneath the building. To the 24 year old Xander Cage, the two floors of the building felt like more than just a living space to the Detroit native and he loved every second of the renovation from office space into his new residence. And to his friends Gina Cortez, Howard Mancini, Juniper Johnson, and Gilbert Ivanov, it was their first step towards independence and self-sufficiency as well as their first foray into the upper class living that their dear friend Xander had been experiencing his entire life.

Upon entering the residence on the 73rd floor directly from the elevator, four of the five students and their kwamis flopped down on the couch to discuss the chaos that happened earlier in the day while the fifth stood out on the balcony overlooking the city skyline. “Do the Blighters get hungry for Coney dogs a lot or something? Because that’s the third road battle we’ve had with those guys near American Coney Island this month!” Howard said as he and his kwami, Benny, were snacking on a bag of potato chips. Howard “Howie” Mancini was the bearer of the Hawk Miraculous and captain of the U of M MVFT*, drone racing, and men’s basketball teams as well as a veteran member of the parkour club. The lively Italian man was hell bent on being in the military, especially the Air Force, which is why he chose to go into Aerospace as his degree of choice, after he gained the privilege and opportunity to be in an Army helicopter with a group of soldiers on patrol at Fort Benning. Hailing from Staten Island, New York, Howard was the flyboy of the group, specializing in aerial combat and keeping the skies safe. He always loved every second of being in the air, and it showed when he pulled off an insane rim-breaking slam dunk from the free-throw line at Ford Field to win the NCAA Championship last year for U of M. “It’s really starting to get annoying that I’m always being interrupted when I’m just about to eat something there! I mean, come on! Can’t a guy sit down and actually enjoy a freshly prepared Coney dog for once?! But besides that...... What the heck are we having for dinner tonight?!” Howie said, finally asking the one question that EVERYONE in the room knew he was going to ask.

“Howie, will you stop thinking with your stomach for a minute? Geez...... In any case though, I have to admit that he’s got a point. These days, those Blighters seem to have more balls than a damn gymnasium. Especially when they tried to push all the toxic waste from that factory into the Detroit River!” was the reply from Juniper, as she and her kwami, Dianna, looked at her watch. Juniper “Mercury” Johnson was the bearer of the Cheetah Miraculous, the captain of the university’s triathlon team, a leading member of the university’s running club, and the lead organizer for the university’s breast cancer marathon group. The sassy African American woman was as quick as a hiccup when it came to getting things done, always trying to be the first to turn in assignments from homework and essays to tests and projects. This, coupled with her love for sports, was the reason she chose Kinesiology as her degree. She was always making sure to help her classmates and teammates stay in prime condition whenever they were doing anything involving running, from recommending amazing kinesiologists to make sure that injuries were taken care of quickly and safely to hiring trainers and nutritionists to help everyone stay healthy and in great shape. Her hometown was Houston, Texas and she was the group's resident speedster, zipping around like she couldn’t sit still in one place. She always enjoyed being one with the land firmly beneath her feet as she ran, which she demonstrated by breaking 7 different collegiate track records in her two years on the track and field team and qualifying to compete in the Olympics for the women’s heptathlon next year. “Who knows where these guys might end up hitting next, at this point!” Junie growled, a bit agitated at not knowing what the Blighters were doing.

Gina spoke up, saying, “Agreed. Though, we should probably be keeping an eye on the power plant, especially since that last low-level decided to blab about something big going down there later this week” as her kwami, Pharah, was flitting around, leaving a small trail of fire from her tail. Gina “GG” Cortez was the bearer of the Phoenix Miraculous and had always been interested in learning more about the energy industry and the medical field. And as the pride and joy of the college’s Ross Energy Club as well as a proud member of the IPhO*, it was no secret the beautiful Latina woman had decided to go with Environmental Engineering as her major of study with Pharmaceutical Sciences as her minor. She was lucky enough to be offered a full ride to the university when she was accepted, and upon coming there, she pushed the university’s Env-E and MedSci programs to greater heights that ever before. Born in Miami, Florida, Gina was the group’s brilliant doctor/scientist and was always looking to find new ways to heal the sick and injured as well as stop criminals from causing more chaos in the city. Her senior undergraduate research project on incorporating natural ingredients into pharmaceuticals helped her secure a multi-million dollar grant from the state of Michigan for the college to build a new wing of the MedSci building that housed a new state-of-the-art medical science laboratory christened in her name. “Hopefully, something actually goes down this time so that we get some evidence there to tie Hogg to the Blighters. It would at least give us something to start building a case against him.” Gina said as she fanned herself with her hand, trying to cool herself down from the events from earlier.

“Agreed. Luckily, I’ve been working with the kwamis to develop, test, and implement new tech for the suits. With these upgrades, taking on the bigger henchmen will be much easier” remarked Gilbert, as he and his AI companion, Archer, tinkered with the device on his wrist while his kwami, Baraak, sat on his shoulder watching them work. Gilbert “Gil” Ivanov was the bearer of the Eel Miraculous and the leader of the college’s FIRST Alumni Mentoring Program as well as the highest ranking member of the Bujinkan Budo and Capoeira martial arts clubs and captain of the archery team. The tall, slim man had both Japanese and Russian blood flowing through his veins, and it certainly wasn’t a surprise to many that he was doing a dual degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Even when people found out that he was an excellent fighter and a technological prodigy, it just heightened the level of respect that he commanded from the students of the university. Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, he was the group’s tech wizard, where he produced many of the impressive gadgets that the heroes would use in their many confrontations against the Blighters. He had always had a fascination with technology, which showed when he built the electrical system and wrote the code that went into the two autonomous motorcycles that helped the university’s AI Research Club win first prize at the NIHF* Collegiate Inventors Competition just months ago. “Once you guys test them out in the field, I’ll know exactly what I need to do to tune them properly, and then those Blighters won’t know what hit them! Right, Xander?” Gil exclaimed as he looked at the gentleman on the balcony.

Unfortunately for everyone inside, the young man hadn’t been listening to the conversation and was deep in thought as he stared out over the city while his kwami Ulrich lay on his head, curled up and resting. Xander was the bearer of the Wolf Miraculous as well as a Guardian and protector of the Miracle Box. The short, strapping lad always preferred to be very humble and acknowledged the help and guidance of his peers, mentors, and teachers for their influence in quite a few of his numerous achievements. But his excitement in getting behind the wheel of a vehicle or shooting competitively was almost as sizable as the mark he was leaving on the college, the state of Michigan, and the entire nation. It was for good reason too, as the Detroit, Michigan native was the driver for a number of the university’s racing teams and one of the college’s most influential student members involved in the SAE*. Some considered him to be the best driver in the college’s history, picking up championship victories for the Formula SAE, SAE Baja, and SPARK motorcycle teams three years running. This was thanks to his experience in go-kart and motocross competitions from his years in middle school and high school, though the fact that he was majoring in Mechanical Engineering didn’t exactly go unnoticed. He was also the captain of the U of M Rifle Team, where he won the NRA’s Intercollegiate Rifle Club Championships in both the individual “Small Bore” and individual “Air Rifle” categories in his first season on the team. These achievements, coupled with a very well trained eye for details, an air of regality that hung around him, and his infectious optimism and positivity, made him one of the more popular students on campus. And his academic record wasn’t too bad either, as he would be elected as the valedictorian for his soon-to-be graduating class with top honors from the university.

As Gil kept looking at the young lad, the rest of their friends soon noticed that Xander wasn’t in the room and was out on the balcony. “Yo Xander, you good?” Howie called out to the young man, looking at him with his eyebrow raised.

When Xander didn’t reply, Gina called out “Xander! Is everything alright out there?”

Again, there was no reply. But Ulrich looked up in their direction before he got up and floated inside. When he landed on the large metallic coffee table in front of the couch, he said to the four students “I think it might be best to leave him be for a few minutes, everyone. He’s been thinking to himself about quite a few things, although he hasn’t mentioned exactly what they are. But my guess is that right now, he’s finally putting the finishing touches on the plan of attack for that meeting you mentioned, Gina.”

Everyone immediately looked at each other when Ulrich finished speaking, knowing that one of them was going to have to walk over to Xander and bring him back to reality. Unfortunately, that also meant that someone would be running the risk of accidentally getting the wind knocked out of them by the young lad, something that every individual in the living room had experienced at least once in the nearly eight years the group had been together. So, they decided to do a rock paper scissors tournament for it, and Gil ended up being the unlucky one who had to complete the task.

“Hey boss, you OK?” Gil walked over to his good friend and tapped him on the shoulder a few times. Xander quickly snapped out of his thoughts upon hearing his friend’s voice and replied “Huh? What?” as everyone inside let out sighs of relief to see Gil still standing and not doubled over on the ground.

“I asked if you’re OK, my friend,” Gil said. “I mean, from what I can tell, you’ve been staring out over the city the entire time we were talking inside, and we got a little worried when we saw you out here.”

“Oh... Sorry, I was just thinking about some stuff.” Xander said, sighing as he looked out over the city skyline one last time before turning to Gil and saying “Alright. Let’s head back inside. And let me guess… Howie wants to know what we’re going to be having for dinner?”

Gil chuckled as he heard Xander say that, and smiled as he replied, “It’s amazing how you always seem to know what we’re thinking and talking about when you’re not around, you know that?”

“Is it really a surprise when Howard asks about dinner, Gil? I mean, in the eight years we've all been together, there’s rarely a time when he hasn’t mentioned anything about food.” Xander retorted, chuckling as he smiled and walked back inside with Gil.

“So...... Has Howie started asking what we’re going to have for dinner yet?” He asked Gina and Junie.

“How is it you always seem to know what we're talking about when you're not around, X?” remarked Gina as Xander and Gil sat on the couch.

"Call it intuition, I guess. Then again, when Howard talks about dinner, it's actually more or less just knowing the general period of time that he brings it up in the day." the short, young lad replied, with a cheeky smirk on his face. 

“Oh come on! You can’t blame me for wanting to know, Gina! I mean, my mother used to always tell me what we were going to eat for each meal every day” Howie replied, gesturing towards her and then to himself. “Besides, if I have to eat one more plain damn cheese sandwich for dinner tonight, I’m probably going to lose it!”

“Howie, you know you can put more on a sandwich than just mayo and cheese, right? It’s not like it’s the end of the world if ya can’t have all those meats you want on one. Besides, you could’ve decided to tell one of us if we’re out of lunchmeat and we could literally just walk five minutes to the delicatessen at Eastern Market and buy more! So stop complaining!” Junie shot back at the Italian, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

“She’s right, Howard. There are other choices for sandwich ingredients outside of meats. And right now, we’re trying to stay within our monthly food budget, not spend it frivolously every time you run out of your precious cold cuts” Gina added with an icy tone before she looked at Gil and Xander. “At least you two know how to live within your means compared to him.....” she said as she jerked her head in the direction of Howard.

Xander shrugged and replied, “Well, my parents just made sure that I learned to make do with what I have, Gina. After all, I never really asked for much when it came to things that I wanted. And if I did ask for something, they always made sure that I looked for good bargains on them. Hell, even now, when I got our new tablets, I used some coupons that I had as well as some discounts and saved over 50% on the entire purchase.”

“Really? Huh...... I had a feeling that there was something off about the bill for that” Gilbert replied, with a look of surprise plastered on his face.

Everyone sat in silence for a few minutes as they thought about the conversation that just happened until Xander said, “Well, in any case, guys, we should probably get ready to head to the airport. After all, they should be here in about an hour or so. And I don’t want to get another giant-ass lecture from Dean Finley in half an hour about how we should be there before the plane with the French school group lands....”

The others quickly agreed, knowing that they did NOT want to hear another lecture, and everyone headed to their rooms to get themselves freshened up. Fifteen minutes later, the group’s contact in the tour bus company called and told them that their ride was here, and everyone headed down to meet their friendly neighborhood bus driver, Ilona. Once greetings were exchanged, Xander told his friends that he was going to drive there on his own on the pretext of clearing his mind, to which they all let him on the condition that he got them a police escort and that he let their kwamis relax in his backpack with Ulrich. The young man sighed, but made the call to his good friend Chief James Craig of the DPD and opened his bag so that the kwamis could quickly zip into it. He then headed down to the garage of the Ren Cen, got in his ’67 Shelby GT500, peeled out onto the city streets, and headed for the airport, grinning as he thought of all the fun that he and the others were going to have alongside the French students. But even as he thought about that while driving to the airport, he had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that the next two weeks would not end up going as the students had planned...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MVFT: Michigan Vertical Flight Technology team  
> IPhO: Industry Pharmacists Organization  
> NIHF: National Inventors Hall of Fame  
> SAE: Society of Automotive Engineers
> 
> (I wanted to use real organizations and clubs for this. May seem a bit weird, but I wanted it to be a bit more...... realistic, I guess?)


	4. The "Short" First Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first meeting arrives!.... Sorta.

When the tour bus finally got to the International Arrivals terminal of the Detroit Metro Airport, Gina, Howie, Junie, and Gilbert got off the bus to find Xander standing near the entrance.

“Hey guys. What took you so long?” Xander joked, cracking a big smile as his friends got to the entrance.

“Ha ha, very funny, Xander. Now can we go inside already?” Howard retorted, upset that the bag of chips he ate earlier wasn’t enough to satiate his hunger for long.

“Don’t mind him, amigo. He’s just upset he didn’t eat enough before we headed out. As usual” Gina giggled, drawing a guffaw from Juniper and a giggle from Gilbert.

Xander sighed, chuckling, and said “Geez, Howard. I think you need to start packing protein bars or some other healthy stuff to help curb that hunger of yours. But besides that, think of other things to help you stop thinking of food all the time, ya know? Like Coach Carson taught you that one time, remember?”

Howard sighed, upset that he didn’t have anything to eat, but he steeled himself when he heard Xander’s words, saying “You’re right. I gotta do this. For Coach. Thanks, man.”

“Hey, what are friends for, Howie?” Xander replied, looking at his watch. “Alright, looks like their plane will be landing any second now, so I’m going to head inside and wait for them.”

Everyone nodded and walked back to the tour bus, while the young man walked inside, looked at the double doors of the exit from the US Customs area, and sat down, placing his bag on his lap as he waited for the French school group to come walking out.

* * *

After the group got their luggage, they headed to the US Customs area, where Marinette suddenly thought about Tikki and the x-ray machines that were there. So she stayed towards the front of the group and opened her purse a bit to say to her little partner “Tikki, I forgot about the x-ray machines! How are you going to get through if I have to take off my earrings and put them in the bin?”

Tikki looked calm as she replied “Marinette, calm down. Just put them in the back in the box and I’ll be perfectly fine!” The young girl looked at Tikki, still a bit concerned, but relaxed a bit when she heard what Tikki had to say.

“Alright, Tikki. Phew... I completely forgot about that” Marinette wiped her brow and smiled at Tikki before putting the earrings back into the little ornate black box, looking up, and walking up to one of the lines.

Adrien had also been wondering about the exact same thing and moved towards the front of the group, whispering to his little partner “Plagg, what are you going to do about the x-ray machine? I mean, I have to take off my ring to go through the metal detector.”

Plagg sighed and said “Adrien, just put the ring in the box. It’s not like I’ll be out of your sight for long, kid. So stop getting worried over nothing...”

Adrien looked at his kwami and smiled. “Right! I totally forgot about that. My bad.” He then placed the ring back into the little ornate black box, looked up, and walked up to a line.

Minutes later, the pair were on the other side of the metal detectors and were quickly retrieving their items from the bins. After doing so, they stepped away and moved towards the exit doors. Adrien moved off to the right side of the doors while Marinette moved off to the left side before they quickly checked to see if anyone was watching them. When they saw that no one was paying attention to them, they both opened their boxes and put their jewelry back on.

Tikki reappeared and Marinette breathed a sigh of relief, saying “Phew. I’m glad that’s over with, Tikki.”

“Marinette, I was only gone for a minute or two. I know that you don’t like it when you’re not wearing the Miraculous, but you have got to start learning how to be a bit more comfortable even if you’re not wearing it. Besides, you’ve had to wear other Miraculous whenever you weren’t wearing the earrings” Tikki replied nonchalantly.

“Fair enough, Tikki. I guess I’m being a bit dramatic” Marinette said, giving her kwami a small nod.

“See Adrien? No problems! I’m still here, aren’t I?” Plagg said to his bearer after Adrien put his ring back on.

“I know, Plagg. But still, I don’t want to think about losing you like that time you weren’t around initially when Sandboy had me trapped in that nightmare” Adrien replied to his kwami, with a look of concern on his face.

“I get it, Adrien. But it’s ok. I’m not going anywhere, alright?” Plagg said, being a bit more sympathetic towards Adrien. “I promise.”

Adrien sighed, but nodded. “Alright...... Well, I guess we have to wait until everyone else is finished. But man, I’m so glad to finally be here!”

* * *

Usually, the kwamis didn’t get to have fun together until the evenings thanks to being with their bearers for most of the day. However, the bearers knew that the little gods wanted to spend time with each other more often, which is why they allowed the kwamis to ride together in Xander’s bag to the airport so that they could enjoy each other’s company. And they certainly enjoyed themselves, having fun talking and catching up with each other in Xander’s bag as they chowed down on the snacks that he had left inside for them to enjoy while waiting. But just as Ulrich was reaching out to grab another cashew from the little bag in front of him, he felt something unusual that caused him to stop, sit back, and look up in surprise.

“Benny, Pharah, Dianna, Baraak, do you feel that?” the wolf kwami asked his brethren.

“Feel what, Ulrich?” Benny asked as he looked at Ulrich, confused, until he felt it too. “Whoa! What is that?!”

“I feel it too!” Pharah spoke up, tilting her head in curiosity. “It somehow feels warm... and friendly...”

“Yeah, kinda like how humans feel when they see someone again after a long time, right?” Dianna asked, looking up and around as if trying to figure out where it was coming from.

“Indeed, Dianna.... Wait, now it’s gone!” Baraak exclaimed as the strange feeling that was there a moment ago disappeared while the kwamis were still trying to pinpoint it.

But it soon reappeared in minutes, and was much stronger than before. So Baraak closed his eyes to try and figure out what he was sensing and soon found the sources of the strange sensations as auras that were radiating from some pieces of jewelry that were behind the exit doors of the customs area. The little eel particularly felt the auras that surrounded a pair of earrings and a signet ring before opening his eyes quickly and covering his mouth with his hands as he realized what the auras were from.

“What is it, Baraak? Have you found out what we were all sensing?” Pharah asked as she and the other kwamis looked to his stunned expression.

Baraak moved his hands away from his mouth before saying “My god...... I think I might have, yes! I’m sensing 17 different auras behind the customs exit!”

“17 different auras, Baraak? Are you sure you’re not just sensing something that looks like it’s giving off different auras?” Dianna quipped, raising an eyebrow questioningly at the little eel.

“I am most definitely sure that it is 17 different auras, Dianna! Look for yourselves!” He could barely hold back the elation in his voice, causing everyone except for Ulrich to close their eyes and look for themselves, with all of them gasping and reopening them just a few seconds later.

“Does that mean what I think it means?” Pharah ask with an excited look on her face.

“It’s gotta be! There’s nothing else in the entire world that could have auras like those!” Benny said, smiling wide as he looked at her.

“He’s right, Pharah! Those auras are exactly like ours, so it has to be!” Dianna exclaimed, bouncing in glee as she sat.

Ulrich closed his eyes to look for himself and made out 2 small beings floating in the air behind the exit. The little wolf tried to attune himself to the auras emanating from these two beings and gasped as his aura synchronized perfectly with theirs, just like before. His eyes and mouth both opened in shock and he had to steady himself in his seat to keep from keeling over. Soon, the little wolf began to chuckle, slowly letting it grow into a laugh as a feeling of nostalgia washed over him, bringing back old memories of all the fun experiences that he had shared with the pair. “There’s no mistaking it, everyone. They’re Miraculous’. And more than that, it just so happens that I know two very particular ones that we’re sensing.” He said, as he grinned from ear to ear. “Goodness..... It’s been so long since I said farewell to those adorable lovebirds all those years ago.” Ulrich said softly to himself as he thought back to that fateful day, remembering the tearful goodbyes and the promise the three had made to meet again someday.

Soon, Ulrich shook himself out of his trance and immediately realized that none of their bearers knew of the good news. “Wait a minute. Our bearers don’t know about this yet!”

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go tell them then!” Benny declared, and the kwamis immediately flew up and started hitting the zipper on Xander’s bag.

* * *

Xander had been relaxing with his eyes closed as he sat on the airport seat when his eyes suddenly opened as he heard his zipper clicking and clacking from the kwamis’ commotion. He immediately unzipped his bag to see the kwamis floating inside with excited looks on their faces before whispering “What’s going on in here, guys? Is something wrong?”

“No, but you might want to call the others over here! We found something!” Dianna exclaimed softly, fidgeting as she floated.

“Found somethi-.... Are you guys talking about the snacks in my bag? Because I got those for you guys. I mean, it’s not like I’m carrying those things for my own health here.” the young man whispered in reply, sighing as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“We’re not talking about the snacks, Xander.” Benny whispered to the young Guardian. “We’re talking about other Miraculous’!"

Xander’s eyes widened in surprise as he leaned in closer to the bag, whispering a bit louder “WHAT?! Other Miraculous’?! Are you sure?!”

“Of course we are sure!” came Baraak’s reply. “Use your aura detection and look for yourself! They’re behind the exit doors for the customs area!”

Xander could not believe his ears, but immediately nodded and closed his eyes before taking a few deep breaths and calming his mind. Soon, he could mentally visualize everyone in the entire vicinity, including the auras of the kwamis in his bag. Sure enough, he was able to make out 17 very distinct and quite powerful auras behind the doors, with two of them shining brighter than the rest.

“Dear god, you guys weren’t kidding! I can see a bunch of Miraculous there!” the young man whispered softly. “But I thought that the only other known Miraculous, besides you guys and the ones at home, were either in Paris being guarded by Old Man Fu or in NYC like the Eagle Miraculous that chick was holding. So what Miraculous are these ones?!” Xander exclaimed softly to the kwamis in his bag.

“They ARE the Miraculous from Paris, Xander” Ulrich whispered back, trying to keep everyone calm...... somewhat.

“How are you so sure?” he asked.

“Because, I happen to be acquainted with the kwamis of the two Miraculous’ that are radiating more powerful auras than the others” the kwami replied without a single bit of hesitation.

“Huh...... If those are the Miraculous from Paris, then that means that Master Fu is here. Though it’s a bit surprising that he didn’t call ahead like usual...” Xander said, seeing the doors to the customs area open. He stood up and watched a small group of what looked to be high school students come out accompanied by a tall, thin woman and a tall, large, and extremely buff gentleman. “Well, whatever. Hopefully, we’ll get to see him right now.”

* * *

Once the class finally all got through customs, Miss Bustier gathered the students together and said “Alright class, now that we’re here, I have to remind you that we aren’t in Europe anymore. We are in America. And as a school group, we have to be on our best behavior here. So please be good and be respectful to our hosts for the duration of this trip, OK?”

“Yes, Miss Bustier.” came the class’s reply, and Miss Bustier sent them out the door before she and Adrien’s bodyguard followed suit. Upon exiting through the double doors, a young, short gentleman stood up and walked over to the group. When he got to them, he asked “Excuse me. Are you Mademoiselle Bustier’s class from Paris?”

“Why yes we are, Monsieur. You must be our host for our little class trip.” Miss Bustier replied.

“I am one of them, yes.” The young man smiled and turned to the students. “Welcome to Michigan, everyone. I trust that you all had a good flight, yeah?”

“We did, indeed” Miss Bustier replied, impressed with the politeness and optimism of the charming young host. Her class all nodded in unison as well, showing that they had a good time.

“Excellent. I’m glad you all made it here. Now if you all will just follow me, we’ll get you guys to the bus and head for the city.” He turned and motioned for the group to follow him, which they did.

As the group made their way out from the terminal to the tour bus, Xander could not help but notice that Master Fu was not among the members of the group, which was quite strange. Ulrich and the other kwamis had told him that the Miraculous’ they were sensing were the ones from Paris, yet the old Guardian was nowhere to be found. This worried the young man, especially since Fu was the one who had trained him in the ways of the Order and had been the one to make sure that Xander would be accepted as a Guardian. But sadly, Xander had to hold off on any further thoughts about his mentor as the group had finally made it to the tour bus, where his friends had disembarked and were waiting for them.

“Well, first things first, allow us to introduce ourselves and tell you guys a little bit about us. I’ll start.” he said, lining up with his friends as they faced the group. He then stepped forward, saying “My name is Xander Cage, my hometown is Detroit, Michigan, and I’m majoring in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor. I am the driver for a number of the university’s racing teams, including the Formula team, and one of my biggest achievements while at U of M has been winning the Formula SAE championships with the U of M Formula team...” He did some quick math in his head to make sure of his numbers. “About six years back to back, if I remember correctly? Well, in any case, if you have any questions about the city and all of the cool stuff you guys will be doing on this trip, please don't hesitate to ask me or one of your four other hosts here. After all, we want to make sure that when you guys head back home in two weeks, you'll leave with a little bit of knowledge to impress your family with, a lot of awesome experiences to tell your friends about, and maybe one or two moments that were absolutely 'miraculous'! Alright then... H, would you like to go next?" Xander took a step back into the line.

The tall, lanky Caucasian guy walked forward, saying “Hey, everybody! My name’s Howard and I’m from Staten Island, New York. I’m majoring in Aerospace. I am the captain of U of M’s men’s basketball team and one of my biggest achievements while at U of M was being chosen as the MVP at the NCAA Championship game last year. Call me Howie, by the way!” He then stepped back.

The short, toned African American girl then stepped forward, saying “Howdy everyone! I’m Juniper and I’m from Houston, Texas. Y’all can call me Junie. My major is Kinesiology. I’m captain of the U of M triathlon team and my biggest achievement while at U of M is that I won the Detroit Free Press Marathon’s Supreme Challenge last year. Hope y’all enjoy yourselves during these next two weeks!” She then stepped back.

The beautiful, tan Latina girl took a step forward before saying “Hello everyone! My name is Gina and I’m from Miami, Florida. I’m majoring in Environmental Engineering and minoring in Pharmaceutical Sciences. I am a member of U of M’s Ross Energy Club and one of my biggest achievements while at U of M was winning the Gunslogon Environmental Design Competition during my senior year as an undergraduate. I hope we can help you guys make some great memories here!” She then stepped back.

The slim, healthy Asian guy took a step forward and said “Good afternoon! My name is Gilbert, though most people call me Gil. I’m from Seattle, Washington, and I am doing a dual degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. I am the leading member of the university’s FIRST Alumnus Program and captain of the U of M Archery team. One of my most memorable achievements is winning the World Capoeira Federation’s World Championships last year as a member of the university’s Capoeira Club. I’m sure you’re all going to have a lot of fun here!” He then stepped back.

Xander stepped forward again, saying “Well, now that we’ve got the introductions out of the way, let’s get your stuff on the bus.“

The French group immediately started bringing their luggage towards the three gentlemen while the ladies checked everyone in with the class roster that was provided to them. It took about ten minutes for the luggage to get stowed away and the students to file into the bus. As the five grad students boarded however, an alert suddenly pinged on their phones and Howard immediately groaned.

“Dammit! Not again!” Howard’s head drooped as he realized what the alert was.

“Good lord, I was hoping for a nice day after this morning’s crap instead of this bullshit!” Junie swore, exasperated again from the alert.

“Howard! Juniper! We have guests here, you two!” Xander said calmly, trying to get the two to regain their composure in front of the French students, before he turned to Ilona and quietly asked “Ilona, can you get these guys to the Ren Cen? We’ve got some business to take care of in the city and we'll have to go ahead in my car.”

“Of course, Mr. Cage. I will get them there safely. But what is the alert this time?” The Ukrainian woman replied, curious as to which areas she would have to avoid.

“It’s over near American Coney Island again...” the young man whispered, making sure that the school group could not hear him.

“Лайно*..... Again?” She sighed, echoing Howard’s reaction.

“I’m afraid so... This is getting ridiculous... You sure you can get them there safely?” Xander replied, sighing with the others. But, they all knew what had to be done.

“Звичайно*! You can count on me!” Ilona thumped her chest proudly. “I will not let you down!”

“Thanks Ilona. Sorry that we have to cut this little introduction short, everyone, but we’ve got something that we need to take care of in the city before you guys get there. Ilona here will get you guys to your hotel quickly so that you all will have a little time to explore the city a bit before dinner. Hopefully, we’ll be able to join you all by then. See you soon!” Xander announced to the French group before turning to his friends, saying “Alright, guys. Let's move!", quickly getting off the bus with them, and dashing off towards his car with his friends right behind.

The French group did not understand what was going on, but dismissed it as Ilona shut the doors of the bus and started driving back to the city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Лайно = Shit
> 
> Звичайно = Of course


	5. Heroes like US???

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The school group finally enters the city, only to bear witness to both a dangerous situation and a few surprises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. It's been a bit since I last updated. But I write these out after every chapter I post. I don't have the whole thing written out, so ideas kinda come and go for me. But.... *Gabe Newell voice* After 20 days of development, hopefully it will have been worth the wait.
> 
> Welcome to Chapter 5 of the Miraculous crew's adventures in Detroit!

The drive to the city was quite nice for the French school group, as many of them had never seen such amazing natural beauty outside of France. They had come during the summer, and the rolling hills, easygoing streams, and abundance of trees and farmland enticed many of the students, especially Marinette and Adrien. For her, she was just waiting to learn about many of the interesting cultures that inhabited the city, especially when it came to the city’s vibrant culinary and fashion scenes. For him, he was looking forward to learning more about Detroit’s music industry as well as a few things about engineering to increase his repertoire, which would possibly gain him some extra standing with his father.

Once the bus came to the city limits and entered the area of the freeway known as Mural Row, the school group was astonished to find some very impressive murals painted on the walls along the freeway. Each one was lovingly painted by local artists and almost seemed to tell a story about the city’s history and culture, from its birth and the days of Prohibition, to World War II and the Detroit Race Riots. There was even a faithful reproduction of the famous Diego Rivera mural known as “Detroit Industry”, which managed to embody the heart and soul of the Motor City’s automotive scene back in the day. Next to the famous mural was another one fondly entitled “Made in Detroit” after the movement of the same name. It had also gained a lot of recognition recently from the city for showcasing some of the awesome businesses that were born in the city as well as some amazing places to visit, such as the Fox Theater, the Ambassador Bridge, Ford Field, Campus Martius, and the Joe Louis Arena. Following that was the mural painted by members of The Mural Co. creative agency, which was entitled “The Motor City Horizon”. It captured the beautiful skyline of the city’s riverfront sparkling in the sunlight and the soft, red-tinged sun, which signaled the beginning of sunset, made for an amazing photograph for many of the students. Even Ilona, the driver, was captivated by Mural Row as she drove through it, remembering all the times that she would see artists hard at work on the murals there.

Soon enough, the tour bus made it to the main roadway of the city, passing by Millender Center, the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, the Spirit of Detroit and Hart Plazas, and the Joe Louis Monument, before finally stopping in front of the Ren Cen.

Ilona shut the motor off as Miss Bustier got on the PA, saying “Well everyone, we are finally here at the Renaissance Center, which is going to be our home for the next two weeks! Let us get off and retrieve our luggage safely, OK?”

“Yes Miss Bustier!” The students cheered and got off the bus, grabbing their bags from the luggage compartment under the bus. Once they checked to make sure they had everything, the school group thanked Ilona for driving them, and stood off to the side as the bus drove away. The group marveled at the sheer sight of the building and Alya snapped a few photos of the area before grabbing a panorama photograph with her phone. Suddenly, a few smartly dressed gentlemen and a young woman walked up to the group before the woman tapped Miss Bustier on the shoulder.

“Mademoiselle Caline Bustier?” she asked.

“Yes. Can I help you?” the teacher replied, curious as to how the woman knew her name.

“Ah, excellent! My name is Emma Carson. I’m one of the managers here at the Marriott hotel inside the Renaissance Center. Our mutual acquaintance, Mr. Cage, called ahead to make sure that the rooms for your group were prepared and ready for you the moment you arrived!” the woman said, smiling. “If you’ll please follow me and these gentlemen, we will be escorting you to them!”

The school group could not hold in their surprise, as they were quite impressed by the level of customer service that they were being given, and cheered as they chattered amongst each other. But as soon as they neared the building’s front entrance, the wail of a police siren was heard coming from the direction of Hart Plaza followed by gunfire, growing louder every second.

“EVERYONE GET DOWN!” exclaimed one of the men, as the sounds got closer and closer.

The entire group quickly ducked for cover behind the stone barrier of the walkway near the building’s entrance, with Marinette and Adrien just barely peeking up to see what was going on and Alya recording with her phone. Soon, a large SUV sped by the Ren Cen, with men and women leaning out the windows and firing their guns at four police cars that were chasing it. The SUV, followed by the police cars, then made a U-turn a little ways away, drove back down the street, and made another U-turn further down before heading back in the direction of the Ren Cen. The school group could not believe that they were witnessing such a chase until they heard a thunderous _**BANG**_ to their right, which was soon followed by a few loud cracks that sounded like something busting through the big car’s engine multiple times and snapping the axle, causing it to screech against the road as it slowed to a stop. Marinette, Adrien, and a few other students turned around to find where the loud noise came from before a few more loud pops rang out. Turning back towards the SUV, the students saw that the two front tires and the radio antenna on top of the vehicle were destroyed and both windshields had been shattered into tiny pieces. As the cop cars surrounded the vehicle, the students slowly lifted their heads over the barrier to see what was going on, only for their mouths to drop open in shock as their collective gaze focused on five individuals, dressed in what looked to be costumes of some sort, hauling the men and women out of the SUV, helping the police handcuff them, and then speaking with one of the officers at the scene. The short person who was talking to the police officer soon saw the school group off to the side near the front entrance to the Ren Cen and quickly finished the conversation before they and their cohorts started walking over to the school group. And of course, being the budding young reporter for the Ladyblog that she was, Alya took a few pictures of the heroes as they had walked over to the school group, and readied her phone to take a video as she waited for the subjects of her soon-to-be newest blog post.

The tall, husky gentleman who was wearing a feathery, light brown uniform spoke first, asking the school group “Is everyone alright over here? No one injured?”

The students, chaperones, and hotel staff quickly checked themselves for any injuries, but were glad to find that no one had been harmed in the incident.

“Not at all, Storm Hawk! Thank God you all showed up when you did!” Miss Carson replied, recognizing the five people immediately and breathing a sigh of relief upon seeing that no one was hurt. “The men in that SUV...... Were they members of the Blighters?”

“Sadly, yes, Miss Carson. We happened to come across them and quite a few other criminals involved in a drug deal going down in an alleyway near American Coney Island. Luckily, most of the people at the scene were apprehended before they could get away.” The dark-skinned woman wearing a spotted print uniform on the group’s far left said, pointing her thumb backwards at the SUV. “Those guys were the only ones who managed to slip away before we could stop them there, but as you can see, we’ve got them now.”

The students and chaperones gaped at this strange group of people in shock and awe, every one of them wondering who they were and how Miss Carson knew them. They could see that the costumes the group wore looked very similar to the ones that their Parisian counterparts wore while saving the city from Hawkmoth and his akumatized villains. This, coupled with the fact that the five individuals in question all held firearms that ranged from a large sniper rifle to a pair of small machine pistols, made the school group realize that these were neither ordinary people nor average heroes.

“On a side note, Miss Carson, who exactly are all of these people? Outside of one possibly familiar face in this group, I don’t seem to recognize any of them.” The long-haired lady in the feathery red uniform asked, tilting her head a bit to the side out of curiosity as her gaze moved from the teacher to the chaperones before ending up on Adrien.

“Oh, they are a school group from Paris who have come to the city for their class trip. They’ll be staying here at the Ren Cen for the next two weeks. And this woman here is their teacher.” Miss Carson replied, gesturing to the students and chaperones behind her.

Miss Bustier, Adrien’s bodyguard, Kagami, and Luka then stood up before the teacher stepped forward with the other three right behind her, saying a bit softly “That’s right! My name is Caline Bustier and I’m the teacher in charge of these students. These three people behind me are the chaperones for our trip.”

Kagami stepped forward with Luka and bowed her head quickly, saying “It is indeed a great honor to meet the people who have saved our lives today.”

“Absolutely! If it hadn’t been for you guys, somebody probably would’ve been hurt bad.” Luka chimed in, bowing his head a bit slower than Kagami.

The slim, short-haired guy in the sleek, grayish black uniform nodded and said “It was nothing, really. We’ve dealt with these kinds of incidents a lot, so we know how to handle them with little to no casualties.”

Suddenly, the group of five heard an officer calling to them. The short man who was wearing the silver/gunmetal gray costume looked to the officer, then turned back to the school group and quickly said “Well, it was nice to meet you all, but we better get going. We’ve still got a few things left to do before we can head back. Let’s move out, guys.”

But just as the five started to head back towards the SUV, Alya boldly stood and held up her phone, pointing it at them and saying “Excuse me! I’m Alya Cesaire, a reporter for the Ladyblog! What you guys did was absolutely awesome! Who are you?!”

The group quickly turned back around and looked at her, before the same man, who the students assumed was the leader of the group, replied “Oh, we’ve heard of you and the Ladyblog, Miss Cesaire. After all, we all prefer to keep ourselves up to date on the activities of our domestic and international counterparts from time to time. You may call me Silver Wolf. To my right are Catalyzer and Shockwave.” He pointed to the dark-skinned woman and the slim gentleman to his right, who waved to the school group. “And to my left are Storm Hawk and Firebird” He pointed to the long-haired woman and the stout gentleman to his left, who also waved, before the man said “WE... are the Miraculous Five, the protectors of the Motor City and the citizens that call it home! Hopefully, we meet again soon, honored guests. Enjoy your trip here in the city!”

And with that, the five heroes turn away and head back towards the crime scene, with the French students absolutely stunned, especially Marinette and Adrien. The pair could not believe they were so famous, and it silenced them for a few seconds before both of them started mentally screaming at themselves.

“ _OMG, this is actually crazy! These guys actually know about Cat Noir and Ladybug! I mean, I get that we made a pretty big statement in New York and we’re the heroes of Paris, but I didn’t think that they would know about us!”_ Adrien thought to himself, excited that he was going to be able to possibly meet up with some superheroes like in New York.

Marinette, on the other hand, was freaking out, remembering all of the trouble that she and Cat Noir had gotten into in New York. She thought to herself “ _OH NO!!! Is this going to end up like New York?! I don’t want to get in trouble again! What do I do, what do I do, WHAT DO I DO?!”_

Luckily, Miss Carson quickly got to her feet and called out to the group “Well, you can all get up, ladies and gentlemen. Let’s get you guys up to your rooms quickly!” before she led the school group into the building.

* * *

Upon entering the lobby, the students were spellbound upon seeing the walls painted in red and white with lots of intricate gold trim accenting the designs and crown molding that looked like it could be in a rich man’s house. The tapestries and paintings that hung high up on the walls, the spherical chandelier illuminating the entire lobby in such bright, natural light, and the glistening golden staircase in the center of the lobby that led up to the first floor of hotel rooms set Marinette’s creative senses ablaze with curiosity and wonder. Of course, that led to the fashion designer in her springing out, as she immediately pulled out her sketchbook and started drawing in it to make sure she put down all her ideas on paper. Adrien was just as amazed as Marinette, since he had never seen a room that seemed palatial in comparison to the front foyer of his own home. He could not help but take a few photos of the room, hoping that some of these designs would be something that his father might want to utilize for a new line or two.

Miss Bustier quickly gathered the room keys from Miss Carson, as well as the room roster before saying “Everyone, I have the room keys, so let’s head on up and I’ll let you all know the roommate arrangements.”

“Yes, Miss Bustier” came the class’s reply. Soon, they got to the 69th floor (don’t even, FOOs) and Miss Bustier quickly named off the roommates. Marinette would be staying in a room with Kagami, Alya, and Mylène, while Rose would room with Juleka and Alix in the room to the right of them. Chloe would room with Lila and Sabrina to the right of Rose, Juleka, and Alix. Adrien would room with Luka, Nino, and Ivan in the room to the left of Marinette’s, while Nathaniel would room with Marc, Kim, and Max in the room to the left of Adrien’s bodyguard. Miss Bustier and Adrien’s bodyguard had been allowed to have rooms for themselves. Adrien’s bodyguard had taken the room to the left of Adrien’s, as he had to stay near Adrien at all times. He also had a bit of a fear of heights ever since New York, but luckily he had his noise cancelling headphones with him, so he was fine. Miss Bustier had her room to the right of Chloe, Sabrina, and Lila’s room

After the Marinette and her roommates set their luggage down in their room, they were immediately stunned by the amazing view out of the window, which overlooked the Detroit skyline. Alya snapped photos and took a video of it to capture the scene. Soon, there was a knock at the door, and as Marinette opened it, she was surprised to see Adrien with his hand behind his neck, smiling sheepishly as he looked back at her.

“A-ADRIEN?! Wha-...What are you doing here?! ” Marinette’s knees buckled a bit as she saw the angel again.

“Well, Miss Bustier and Miss Carson said we can explore the building, so I was hoping that all of us could maybe look around together?” Adrien replied, with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

“Oh hello, Adrien!” Kagami said as she walked up to the door and greeted the blonde. “Exploring the building together sounds like a great idea. I wish I could join you, but Luka and I were going to go visit some relatives in the city that my mother asked me to meet with.”

“Yeah, I was planning on grabbing some info from the locals about our superhero saviors for the Ladyblog! Nino was going to come along so that he and I could find some romantic-... I mean awesome tourist destinations!” Alya chimed in after walking over, quickly catching herself before she said something wrong.

“And Ivan and I were planning to walk around Hart Plaza and Belle Isle. We wanted to take a look at the amazing natural beauty around the island!” Mylène said as she stood behind Marinette, fiddling with the pin that Ivan put on her headband.

“Oh...... Well then, Marinette, I guess it’ll just be you and me then.” Adrien looked back at Marinette.

“Wha-?! You... us... build-......toge-?!” The half Chinese girl looked like she had steam coming out her ears and her face was as red as a tomato.

Her friends smiled amongst themselves before Alya slipped a room key into Marinette’s purse and the trio “gently” pushed Marinette out into the hallway, with Alya saying “WHOOPS! Sorry, Marinette! Enjoy yourselves, you two!” before she closed the door behind the girl.


	6. On The Horizon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their friends just created the perfect opportunity for the pair to spend time together. Problem is, she was thrust into it, and wasn't really ready to tell him how she feels. Will romance finally start blooming between Marinette and Adrien, or is their golden opportunity just a load of fool's gold?

Marinette yelped as her friends pushed her out the door and fell into Adrien, sending the pair tumbling to the ground, with her landing on top of him. As she sat back up, she noticed that she was straddling Adrien’s body, in one particular area. She shrieked and immediately scrambled backwards only to end up slamming her back and the back of her head against the door.

“Ouch!” Marinette winced as she rubbed the back of her head.

Adrien sat up and looked at her, before saying “Are you alright, Marinette?”

“You’re fine- I’m fine, Adrien! Thanks” She replied, dusting herself off as they both stood up.

“Phew! That’s good.” Adrien smiled as he looked at Marinette. “Hey, I was thinking we should start with the shops on the ground floor.”

“Uh... you seem like a great idea- I mean THAT seems like a great idea! I’ve been wanting to see them make your jeans-... I mean, the jewelry! The jewelry... that they make in the shop!” Marinette stammered as her face got redder and redder from embarrassment.

“Whoa, slow down, Marinette!” Adrien said, gently holding her by the shoulders. “It’s OK. We can go there first. Then we can check out the restaurants and find out what we’re going to have for dinner tonight.”

“S-Sounds great, Adrien. Lead me away- Uh, I mean lead the way!” Marinette couldn’t help but trip over her words as Adrien led her to the elevator and they went down to the ground floor of the Renaissance Center. Upon stepping out of the elevator, the pair was able to take in the large, and very open, interior of the building, whose ceiling rose almost 20 stories above them. They saw all sorts of different shops, such as the Costa D’Oro Jewelry shop, where the pair got to see how they made jewelry in house, and the Pure Detroit shop, which sold novelty items all made in the city. They were also able to take in the GM World space, which showcased the history of the company from its creation to the present day, and the Renaissance Conference Center, where the pair accidentally walked in on a meeting of GM employees and profusely apologized for the interruption, blushing and giggling once they were out of “danger”. They were dazzled by the sights and sounds in the 5-story GM Wintergarden, where many people, from employees to families, gathered to do things such as relax and talk, grab a bite to eat, and gaze out over the riverfront. Both of them were smiling, laughing, and talking all throughout the walk, enjoying each other’s company. Soon, though, they both seemed to have a feeling that something was off about their little escapade.

“Um, Adrien...? It might just be me, but I feel like we’re being watched.” Marinette held onto Adrien’s arm tight as she scooted closer to him.

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking the same thing.” He replied, looking over his shoulder inconspicuously, and catching the rest of the class out of the corner of his eye. The students had all tried to blend in with the people in the area, with some sitting at tables and reading newspapers, others looking at the various displays around the Wintergarden, and Alya and Nino acting like a lovey-dovey couple at a bench nearby. Sadly though, the class could not have been more conspicuous in hiding their true intentions. “And I know exactly who’s watching us.” Adrien said, sighing before chuckling softly.

Marinette looked for herself, just as inconspicuously as Adrien did, and she also caught them out of the corner of her eye. “Oh god, what are they doi- Wait, never mind...” She said softly, shaking her head as Alya and Nino gave her a thumbs up.

Adrien smiled sheepishly, then looked at his watch and said “Well, it’s already 5:30, and Miss Bustier said that we would be having dinner at 6:30. Why don’t we ditch them and head to the roof?”

Marinette, surprised at the boldness that Adrien had just exhibited, let out a “HUH?” then said “Adrien... Did you really just say that?!”

“Yeah. Why?” Adrien replied, cocking his eyebrow.

“W-W-W-Well... I hadn’t pegged you for being so......... rebellious, you know?” She stammered, trying to gather her wits as she imagined him as a delinquent and internally fangirled as her vision of his delinquent self was just as good as the real thing.

“Uh... Well, you know I always have a chaperone when I go anywhere..... So...” Adrien blushed as he replied to her comment and internally beamed at it, thinking to himself “ _Oh my god, she thinks I’m rebellious! And she’s so cute when she’s embarrassed!_ ”

“O-Oh right! I forgot about that! Yeah, let’s ditch them then!” Marinette softly whispered, trying to contain her nervousness. And with that, they took each other’s hand in their own, nodded, and bolted for the elevator.

“HEY! WAIT UP, GUYS!!!” Alya yelped as she and the rest of the class ran after them. Outside of Alya, Kagami, and Mylène, the rest of their classmates could not believe that the pair were actually doing something together without anyone else knowing about it. all of the students hoping to see more of the duo together while snapping more photos...

Well, everyone except for Chloe, Sabrina, and Lila of course.

Adrien and Marinette quickly ran into the elevator and pressed the button to head to the roof. Luckily for them, the doors closed before any of their classmates could get into the elevator with them. The pair relaxed against the walls of the elevator, catching their breath, before looking up at each other and laughing.

“Wow! I can’t believe we actually got away!” Marinette exclaimed, surprised that even the sportiest of the students, Alix and Kim, couldn’t even get to the elevator before the doors closed. “I thought for sure that someone was going to end up in here with us.”

Adrien grinned and said “Well, we did have a bit of a head-start on them.” The blonde slid his hands through his locks, trying to get his hair back into place. “Though if the circumstances were different, yeah, I would agree with you.”

The half Chinese girl couldn’t take her eyes off of him as he tried to re-style his hair. She was still trying to process the fact that she and her friend/middle-school crush were actually spending time together without anyone else nearby. But the bearer of the Ladybug Miraculous and current Guardian of the Miracle Box still felt that she was still in some sort of dream, and it got point where she pinched her arm, believing that she would wake up in bed in the hotel room. She yelped and Adrien quickly looked towards her with a concerned look on his face, saying “Marinette, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine! Uh, I just banged my arm on the railing back here! No worries! No problem!” She stammered as her cheeks became a light shade of pink.

“.......... Alright” Adrien replied, raising an eyebrow but not pressing her further as he looked to the door of the elevator.

“ _OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!!! I’M NOT DREAMING! HOW IS THIS NOT A DREAM?! I mean, he’s here! I’m here! We’re both here and no one’s here with us! Oh, why is it I can’t be anything other than embarrassed and timid around Adrien, especially RIGHT NOW, of all times?! I mean, I’m Ladybug! I save Paris from akumatized villains on a daily basis, yet I can barely keep my composure when I’m near him!_ ” Marinette thought, internally hyperventilating as it finally dawned on her that this was actually happening, in real time and right in front of her very eyes. It didn’t help that the light pink blush she had before was slowly darkening into a deep shade of red, growing steadily until she finally decided to look at Adrien out of the corner of her eye and softly took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. “ _Still, I’m really glad that I ended up in this scenario with him. I mean, Adrien’s a great guy! Sure, he’s got the looks that make every girl go weak at the knees when they look at him, but deep down, he wants to be known for more than just that. He can play the piano with ease, he’s able to speak multiple languages, he’s an amazing sports player, he’s always ready to help a friend in need_...... _And he’s even strong enough mentally to put up with his hectic schedule without losing his temper, his patience, or his calm demeanor!_ ” She sighed, smiling inwardly as she caught his blonde locks and lightly tanned skin glinting in the natural lighting of the elevator. “ _Well, at least we have two whole weeks to spend here in Detroit. Hopefully, some of Ladybug’s courage will rub off on me and I can finally tell him how I really feel!_ ”

Adrien was also lost in his own thoughts about the scenario that was playing out before him, thinking to himself, “ _Man, I can’t believe that those guys actually did that to me! I mean, I just wanted to have some fun and sightsee with them, but they had to blow me off because they were doing stuff with their girlfriends!_ ” He looked at Marinette out of the corner of his eye and was a bit surprised to see her looking like she had just come from a teen fashion photo shoot, her soft cream-colored skin and the blue reflections in her hair gleaming from the natural lighting in the elevator. “....... _Well, at least I can spend more time with Marinette. And in all honesty, it’s been pretty nice walking around with her. She’s one of the smartest people in class, she’s got serious skills as a gamer and a chef, she has an amazing eye for fashion design, she’s always nice to everyone_...... _Hell, I think she’s actually more beautiful than all of the female models I’ve had to collaborate with for my photo shoots! At this point, whoever she decides to get into a relationship with is going to be a very lucky person._ ” He smiled inwardly as he thought of how lucky that person would end up being to be in a relationship with Marinette. It soon faded as a thought crossed his mind. “ _Though_...... _Sometimes, I do really wish that I could be in a relationship with her. But Father would probably get super upset with me if I did that. After all, if the public found out that the budding young fashion designer he discovered was in a relationship with his supermodel son, I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to make us end the relationship just to avoid scandal. But even more than that, I don’t even know if I would be a good enough choice for Marinette. I mean, she’s just a friend_...... _right?_ ”

Luckily, the elevator dinged as it stopped at the 71st floor and brought the pair back to reality. Upon exiting the elevator, they found themselves in a long hallway that spanned the diameter of the building and saw a board on the wall in front of them that showed where the stairs to the roof were. So Marinette and Adrien walked down the hallway until they found the door on their left. It took the pair about 5 minutes to walk up the stairwell before they opened the door at the top and walked out onto the roof. The first sight that greeted them was the large helipad 20 meters away from the door that spanned nearly the entire rooftop. Nearby, they could see a number of large condenser units to their right, which were connected to the building’s AC system, as well as a bit of the ventilation system, snaking all around underneath the helipad. At first, Marinette and Adrien were a bit disappointed that there was no clear view of the skyline from where they were standing, but seconds later, Adrien spoke up. “You know, we might be able to see something if we climb up to the helipad, Marinette. Care to join me?”

Marinette looked at him incredulously, wondering whether it was some strange spirit that had taken over his body, making him act so bravely, or if this was actually the personality of the boy who she became the best of friends with. She was already flipping out over the fact that she was walking around the building with him without anyone else beside the pair, and yet the boy’s query completely stunned her. And it showed quite clearly from her jaw being wide open. “Uh... A-Adrien, I’m n-n-n-not sure we should. I mean, as much as I would like to, what if we’re not supposed to be up here a-a-and someone catches us?”

“I don’t think anyone is going to come up here. I mean, the only time anyone actually comes up here is when a helicopter is either taking off or landing. Otherwise, I’d hazard a guess that no one usually decides to come up to the rooftop” Adrien replied. “Come on, Marinette. I’ll be with you up there, so there’s nothing to worry about!”

Marinette thought for a moment, before she nodded, taking Adrien’s hand in her own and walking up the stairs to the helipad with him. Upon reaching the helipad, the pair looked to the right and saw the beautiful sunset illuminate the silhouette of the Windsor skyline. When they walked over to the east edge of the helipad and sat down near it, they looked down at the Detroit River, seeing pockets of sunshine bouncing off the water that made some of the waves twinkle and gleam against the backdrop of the unlit areas. As Marinette took in the scene, she couldn’t help letting out a gasp and pulling out her journal to put the idea down on paper. Adrien slowly turned his head to look at the young girl as she drew and smiled before he leaned over to watch her draw out the design.

“It’s beautiful, Adrien! I never thought that I would see something like this in Detroit!” Marinette sighed, smiling with content as she finished the drawing. “Especially the view of the river at this time of day. It’s almost like a natural mural of stars in the night sky, don’t you agree?” She looked up at the blonde, her eyes gleaming, to find him leaning in quite close to her. This caused the bluenette to let out a yelp before scooting quickly away from him. “AH! A-A-A-A-ADRIEN! Y-Y-You scared me! W-W-W-What were you doing, leaning in that close?!” She said, her voice loud from the shock

Adrien looked like a deer in headlights, surprised at his friend’s reaction, before he threw his hands up and spoke. “Whoa! I-I’m sorry, Marinette! I just wanted to watch you draw in your journal.”

“Well, that doesn’t exactly mean you can invade my personal space and nearly give me a heart attack in the process!” Marinette replied, with her voice raised a bit in anger and her eyes cold and hard.

Adrien looked at her before bowed his head slightly, a bit upset and angry at himself for not realizing the mistake and correcting it sooner. But he understood that he was in the wrong, so he looked up and said “I’m really, really sorry, Marinette. I was wrong to do that without asking. Please forgive me for my mistake...”

As he looked at Marinette, she could see his bright green eyes becoming a little watery, as if he was about to shed a tear. Her hard gaze became soft as she scooted back towards him and gave him a hug. “Hey...... It’s ok, Adrien. It’s fine. Besides, I probably overreacted a little bit right now. So I should also be apologizing to you for that.”

“No, Marinette. You really don’t have to-“

“Yes, I do, Adrien. I’m sorry that I overreacted, alright?” Marinette said as they straightened up.

As they broke the hug, their eyes soon locked on one another and for a moment, it felt as if the world had completely stopped around them. Adrien could not help but be entranced by the soft bluebell eyes of the young woman in front of him, and Marinette could not help but be enticed by the bright green eyes of the young man in front of her. Soon, they both looked away, blushing as they thought about each other. But, their thoughts would soon be interrupted by the sound of something mechanical whirring to life behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took a little bit more research than I initially thought it would. But I hope you guys enjoy it and hope to hear from you guys about what you think of the story so far!


End file.
